Ryan Whalen

Strange ‘Terrell-Penrose Effect’ Observed in Lab For the First Time, in New Confirmation of Einstein’s Special Relativity

Ryan Whalen·May 8, 2025

Physicists have demonstrated the Terrell-Penrose effect, which causes an object moving close to the speed of light to warp before our eyes.

NASA’s IXPE Solves Mystery of X-Ray Emissions from Supermassive Black Hole

Ryan Whalen·May 8, 2025

A supermassive black hole, blazar BL Lacertae, has finally revealed how these cosmic features generate X-rays thanks to NASA's IXPE.

Controversial Plan to Block Sunlight with Geoengineering Advanced by Shadowy UK Government Agency

Ryan Whalen·May 7, 2025

Controversial geoengineering research, including a plan to block sunlight, could be just as dangerous as the climate crisis scientists warn.

James Webb Telescope Unveils Secrets of Small, Mysterious Planets That “Don’t Exist in Our Solar System.”

Ryan Whalen·May 7, 2025

For the first time, astronomers have used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to peer through the thick haze of a sub-Neptune planet’s atmosphere, offering new clues about one of the universe’s most mysterious and common types of worlds.

Breakthrough in Superconductor Research Brings Room-Temperature Dreams Closer to Reality

Ryan Whalen·May 7, 2025

Superconductors are one major step closer to practical use thanks to new work from Columbia University physicists.

ESA’s Gaia Mission Unveils a Stellar Mystery, and Astronomers “Haven’t Found Anything Quite Like It Before”

Ryan Whalen·May 6, 2025

The Gaia star surveyor has identified strange behavior in a group of stars rushing to escape their birthplace, unlike any others observed. 

Archaeologists Unearth 2000-Year-Old Evidence of Psychedelic Use by This Enigmatic Ancient Culture

Ryan Whalen·May 5, 2025

Hallucinogens proved to be one of the most powerful tools of Peru's ancient Chavín Phenomenon society for maintaining hierarchy.

Astronomers Solve 20-Year Mystery of Magnetar Flare, Revealing the Source of Our Universe’s Gold

Ryan Whalen·May 2, 2025

Magnetar flares produce gold, platinum, and other heavy elements in our galaxy, says new research on a strange cosmic flash over 20 years ago.

Scientists Discover Super-Earths Are Surprisingly Common Across the Galaxy

Ryan Whalen·May 1, 2025

Exoplanet super-Earths are more prevalent in the universe than earlier research predicated according to international scientists.

Astronomers Learn Something “Very Surprising” While Studying the Mysterious Asteroid Vesta

Ryan Whalen·April 30, 2025

Vesta, the strange object in our solar system that has long fascinated astronomers isn't what it appears according to new research.

NASA is Firing a Hybrid Rocket into Simulated Moon Dust to Help Plan for Artemis Lunar Landings

Ryan Whalen·April 29, 2025

NASA researchers at Huntsville are conducting research to ensure that landings on potentially unstable lunar surface proceed reliably.

“They Will Act as Lighthouses in Space.” China Saves Off-Course Satellites Using Gravity Slingshot After Launch Failure

Ryan Whalen·April 28, 2025

China rebounded from a failed March 2024 space mission by saving two off-orbit satellites through a novel navigation technique.

Orbilander Mission Revamp Brings NASA Closer to Finding Life on Saturn’s Mysterious Moon Enceladus

Ryan Whalen·April 27, 2025

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Team X is suggesting major changes to the proposed Orbilander mission to Enceladus.

2000-Year-Old Herculaneum Scrolls Scorched by Mount Vesuvius Are Being Digitally “Unrolled” with AI and X-Rays

Ryan Whalen·April 25, 2025

The ancient Herculaneum scrolls' long lost writings, charred and buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, are finally coming to light.

A Green Fireball Exploded Above Australia, Shocking Residents and Raising Questions

Ryan Whalen·April 24, 2025

A green fireball brighter than the full moon surprised Australians with a massive bang Monday night, leaving questions about what occurred. 

MIT Develops Ultra-Thin Sensor Skin That Could Redefine Night Vision and Wearable Tech

Ryan Whalen·April 23, 2025

An electronic sensor "skin" grown by MIT engineers could revolutionize next-generation night vision and autonomous vehicles.

SETI Expands the Search for Extraterrestrial Life to a Community Scientists

Ryan Whalen·April 23, 2025

The SETI Institute is bringing the search for extraterrestrial life to a broader group of budding scientists with new hands-on opportunities.

Los Alamos Scientists Reveal Clever New Method of Detecting Earthquakes and Controlled Blasts

Ryan Whalen·April 23, 2025

Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have advanced a new Earthquake detection method using underwater fiber optic cables.

NASA’s TESS Spots Evaporating Planet in Death Spiral That’s Producing a Comet-Like Tail

Ryan Whalen·April 23, 2025

A distant exoplanet is quickly disintegrating 140 light-years from Earth, spotted by MIT astronomers through NASA's TESS mission.

Yellowstone Supervolcano Has a Hidden Magma Cap—How Close Are We to an Eruption?

Ryan Whalen·April 22, 2025

Yellowstone Caldera, the volcanic complex underneath Yellowstone National Park, is held at bay from eruption by a cap 3.8 meters underground.

Curiosity Uncovers Evidence of Ancient Martian Carbon Cycle That May Have Sustained Life

Ryan Whalen·April 19, 2025

NASA's Curiosity rover has found new evidence that Mars once had a working carbon cycle in its ancient past.

New ‘Spinning Universe’ Theory Could Explain a Decades-Old Cosmological Mystery

Ryan Whalen·April 18, 2025

The entire universe may be rotating, like its individual parts do, potentially explaining the “Hubble tension,” which perplexes scientists.

“New and Intriguing” Mars Discoveries Made by NASA’s Perseverance Rover are “All We Had Hoped for and More”

Ryan Whalen·April 18, 2025

Mars's Jezero Crater is offering scientists a treasure trove of intriguing new findings that may hide clues to the Martian past.

New Fungus-Based Building Material Heals Itself, Paving the Way Toward Self-Repairing Structures

Ryan Whalen·April 16, 2025

A new Fungus and bacteria-based building material demonstrates a healing ability that could lead to self-repairing structures.

A Long-Dormant Supermassive Black Hole Has Awakened, and It’s Doing Something Extreme and Unusual

Ryan Whalen·April 15, 2025

A supermassive black hole that scientists have nicknamed "Ansky" is now awake after a long dormant period, emitting powerful X-ray flares. 

Scientists Have Discovered an Unknown Lifeform Deep Within the Earth

Ryan Whalen·April 15, 2025

A new microbe category was discovered in Earth's Critical Zone, a sort of "skin" extending beneath the planet's surface. 

James Webb Space Telescope Captures a Planet Being Consumed by Its Star for the First Time, with Unexpected Results

Ryan Whalen·April 12, 2025

The James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI instrument has captured the final moments of a planet's existence, unexpectedly revealing that the object descended into its host star rather than being engulfed by it as it grew. 

“This is Something We Did Not See Coming.” New Physics from Odd Shapes Predicts what Appears as Random Motion

Ryan Whalen·April 11, 2025

Basic physics quickly gets messy in an irregular world, scientists discover in new research on the old problem of a ball rolling downhill.

Hidden Galaxies Could “Break All of our Current Models” of Galactic Evolution, Astronomers Say

Ryan Whalen·April 11, 2025

Hidden galaxies offering a glimpse into the past could reveal previously unknown secrets of the universe, challenging current models.

Previously Unknown Ancient Human Lineage Discovered in Libyan Rock Shelter

Ryan Whalen·April 10, 2025

Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa roughly 50,000 years ago, but scientists have now discovered that some chose to remain behind.

This Pharmaceutical Pollutant is Creating ‘Psycho Salmon,’ Causing Them to Display Concerning Behavior

Ryan Whalen·April 10, 2025

A pharmaceutical pollutant, clobazam, is turning up in global waterways and altering the behavior of marine creatures. 

Curious Grad Student Accidentally Discovers Shape-Changing Liquid That Bends the Laws of Thermodynamics

Ryan Whalen·April 9, 2025

Bendng the laws of thermodynamics, University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have discovered a surprising "shape-changing liquid."

Life on Titan? Scientists Are Rethinking Whether Alien Life Could Thrive on Saturn’s Mysterious Icy Moon

Ryan Whalen·April 8, 2025

A new study challenges past optimism scientists have expressed about whether life could exist on Saturn's moon Titan.

Altar of the Storm God: Archaeologists Unearth New Evidence of an Ancient Mayan Tale of Conquest

Ryan Whalen·April 8, 2025

An ancient Mayan altar in Tikal, a 2,400-year-old city in Guatemala, evidences a quasi-imperial control system before the Spanish arrival.

In the Search for Extraterrestrial Life, This Surprising Result May Bring us Closer to a Groundbreaking Discovery

Ryan Whalen·April 7, 2025

"What if extraterrestrial life is not found?" international researchers ask, seeking to understand how negative results could aid future work.

A Chorus of Stars 2,700 Light-Years Away is “Singing,” and Scientists Are Listening

Ryan Whalen·April 7, 2025

Stars 2,700 light years away are singing a song that researchers are listening to, uncovering stellar evolution. 

New “Impossible” Material Leads Researchers to a Quantum Computing Breakthrough

Ryan Whalen·April 7, 2025

An impossible quantum structure has now been fabricated, potentially leading the way to new developments in quantum computing. 

Doomed Binary Star System to Produce Brilliant Explosion in the Distant Future 

Ryan Whalen·April 5, 2025

A binary star system about 150 light years from Earth, right on our cosmic doorstep, is on track to collide as a type 1a supernova. 

Scientists Have Found Something on the Moon That Could Help Power Future Lunar Bases

Ryan Whalen·April 4, 2025

A moon dust based solar cell developed by German scientists may be the answer to powering a human lunar base with local resources.

Life on Mars? Hardy Lichen Offers New Clues After Thriving in Simulated Martian Hellscape

Ryan Whalen·April 2, 2025

Mars can host life, according to Polish researchers, after demonstrating lichen's survival under simulated Mars-like conditions. 

Quantum Computing Breakthrough: Photon Router Transforms Microwave Qubits into Light Pulses

Ryan Whalen·April 2, 2025

A quantum computer breakthrough was made by Harvard physicists with a photon router, a powerful optical interface for quantum networks. 

CERN Charts a Path to Unlocking Deeper Mysteries of the Universe as Circular Collider Moves Closer to Reality

Ryan Whalen·April 2, 2025

CERN has completed a feasibility assessment on a Future Circular Collider (FCC), a potential successor to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

Physicists Are Decoding Mysterious Behavior of ‘Strange Metals’ Using Quantum Information

Ryan Whalen·March 31, 2025

New findings are shedding light on the link between quantum entanglement and the anomalous behavior of strange metals.

A Revolutionary Brain Mitochondria Map May Help Explain Cognitive Decline 

Ryan Whalen·March 31, 2025

The first brain mitochondria map has been assembled by scientists in what could be the key to unraveling age-related brain disorders. 

New Hypersonic Flight Simulations Just Revealed Something “Shocking” that Researchers Didn’t Expect

Ryan Whalen·March 29, 2025

Hypersonic vehicles' complex interactions with gases in the air are revealed for the first time in a new 3D simulation.

New Copper Alloy Demonstrates Incredible Heat-Resistant Strength for Military and Industrial Uses

Ryan Whalen·March 29, 2025

A nanostructured copper alloy, Cu-Ta-Li, could be a groundbreaking new high-temperature material for aerospace and industrial applications.

James Webb Space Telescope Reveals ‘Cosmic Tornado’ and Hidden Galaxy in Striking New Images

Ryan Whalen·March 28, 2025

New James Webb Space Telescope captures a "cosmic tornado" with imagery of the dramatic outflow from a newly formed star.

Illicit Cannabis Products Contain Potentially Dangerous Fungal Toxins, New Research Reveals

Ryan Whalen·March 28, 2025

New research out of Arizona State University reveals black-market cannabis products contain potentially dangerous levels of fungal toxins.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Uncovers the Most Advanced Prebiotic Chemistry Yet on the Red Planet

Ryan Whalen·March 27, 2025

NASA's Curiosity rover collected the largest organic compounds ever discovered on the Martian surface, with new hints of ancient life, after scientists analyzed the pulverized rock samples.

Shimmering Caves on Earth May Hold Clues to Finding Extraterrestrial Life on Planetary Moons

Ryan Whalen·March 26, 2025

Fluorescent caves on Earth may hold the secrets to survival necessary for scientists to detect life elsewhere in the universe.